The present invention relates to a receptacle positioned within the wall structure for receiving, retaining, and transmitting a newspaper or the like in a unidirectional path.
Numerous industries utilize the marketing technique of hand delivery of materials such as newspapers, pamphlets, mailers, catalogs, advertisements, and similar materials to homes, apartment units, condominium units, and the like. If these materials are not delivered by the U.S. Postal Service, they may not be placed in mailboxes as placement in mailboxes of materials other than those delivered by the U.S. Postal Service is prohibited by law. Therefore, without suitable apparatus, such materials must be placed on the ground in the vicinity of a doorstep.
A major problem facing these industries which are dependent upon hand delivery of materials to apartment units, condominium units, and the like is the theft of such materials when they are left in the vicinity of a doorstep as anyone may readily pick up the materials. Moreover, materials which are delivered to such units often stack up over a period of time without being picked up by the occupant, indicating to a potential burglar that the occupant is away from the unit. Had these materials been hidden from open view, the burglar would not be as likely to break and enter into the unit.
One of the industries which has contended with these problems for many years is the newspaper industry. Specifically, if a newspaper is left in the vicinity of the doorstep, it may be readily stolen by anyone passing by. Moreover, if newspapers are left stacked up, this is an indication to a potential home burglar that the occupant is away.
There are known and utilized by the newspaper industry devices which have the capability of receiving and storing newspapers. However, these devices often create more problems than they solve. For instance, there is known to the art a newspaper container which is normally attached to the exterior wall of a unit. Usually the container is designed to hold only one or two copies of newspapers; thus when an occupant is away from the unit, additional copies of newspapers must be stacked upon the ground in the vicinity of the container. This enables the burglar to know when the occupant is away from the unit, and chances of a burglary are increased. Moreover, when newspapers are stored in such containers, they may be easily stolen therefrom.
Also known to this art is the use of racks for placement near mailboxes in apartment or condominium units. Often the occupant of such a unit is provided with a key to the rack and upon unlocking the rack each day one may pick up their copy of the newspaper. This device has several disadvantages such as each day one must use a key which may be lost and must be replaced. Further, the newspaper rack is often located some distance away from the apartment or condominium unit; thus, it is not very handy to the occupant especially if one is handicapped.
The present invention solves these and other problems by providing means for receiving, retaining, and transmitting newspapers or the like inside a dwelling such as a house or an apartment or condominium unit. The receptacle comprising the present invention is constructed so as to obstruct the view of a person looking through the receptacle. Moreover, once the newspaper is inside the dwelling, it is impossible to determine if the occupant is at home. Finally, the present invention is designed to allow the newspaper to be received, retained, and transmitted in a unidirectional path into the dwelling while preventing the newspaper from being brought back through the receiving end.